o36 DISEASES OF HORSES AND CATTLE. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



MANAGEMENT OP THE FOAL AND CALF. 



There are a great many foals lost every year 

 from want of attention at the time of the birth of 

 the young creature and for a few days thereafter. 

 It is necessary to detail a trusty man to do this, 

 The mare, if in the stable, should have a good, 

 roomy place separated from the other horses. It 

 should have plenty of clean short straw, and if 

 the weather is cold it should be made as warm as 

 possible and the foal rubbed dry, and in some cases 

 covered up with warm blankets until it is, thor- 

 oughly dry. There are many colts destroyed from 

 want of a little care at this stage, as the young- 

 creature is very likely to suffer from swollen joints 

 a week or two hence from the exposure to the cold 

 and in some cases dies from inflammatory rheuma- 

 tism. Do not be in a hurry to separate the foal from 

 the afterbirths, as in some cases the navel cord is 

 thick and strong. Let the foal flounder about for 

 a while, and in the majority of cases it will break 

 off at the proper place, and on account of it being 

 twisted off there will be very little hemorrhage. 

 I have known of a few cases in which the cord was 

 cut and a ligature put on and inflammation set in, 

 ca using the death of the foal. There are very few 

 cases but what will divide if left alone. Dust a 



